The relaunch of privatizations in italy amid public debt reduction and gdp growth
Between 2012 and 2016, while the financial crisis was unfolding its effects in Italy and globally,
several divestments of Italian State-owned companies were carried out, leading observers to believe that a new
season of privatizations — similar to the one carried out in the 1990s — had finally been launched.
However, after the initial considerable divestments announcing the completion of privatization of large
public companies, the momentum faded away due to the strong Italian political instability combined with an
international trend oriented to nationalism.
The sizeable privatizations launched in 2014-2016, which led to important results in terms of revenue and
attraction of investments (including international ones), produced lights and shadows, mainly due to the lack of a
long-term roadmap.
In this context, the only constant feature of any privatization strategy in Italy appears to be the feeble and
fluctuating trend that — today just like yesterday — prevents the country from fully exploiting the potential
implicit in the divestment of large State-owned companies.